The Other Card
by remonrime
Summary: Mello wants Matt to give him a Valentine's Card, but Matt just finds the whole Valentines thing to be pointless. So when he hand-makes Mello a card, he discovers that there's also a another card, not for Matt, but for Near. ONE SHOT.


**Uhhhh...I don't own Deathnote or any of its characters. Harumph.**

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"Matt, what'cha doing?"

He ignored the sweet-as-molasses voice sounding in his ear, feverishly tapping away at his PSP. Flashes of light and synthetic color danced across his face, glinting off the surface of his goggles, and still he ignored her, even when she began to prod tepidly at his shoulder.

"Matty?"

"Don't call me that," Matt snapped, sliding his PSP shut. The auburn haired boy reluctantly lifted his head and looked up to find Linda smiling down at him, something impish flashing across her cerulean eyes. She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head, blond pigtails cascading over her shoulder. Matt adjusted his goggles and sighed, hitting pause on his game. He scowled and shot her a feral glower—he absolutely hated it when people interrupted him during a gaming session.

"I'm playing a game Linda, go away," he sighed in irritation, anchoring his eyes on the idle screen of his hand-held console. He looked up at Linda once more when he noticed she wasn't budging.

"So, who are you gonna' give it to?" she asked suddenly, a giggle to her voice. Linda stalked about his sitting form and eyed him with a suspicious stare, a wicked grin plastered across her rosy-cheeked face.

"Give what?" Matt asked. What the hell was she talking about? How can she ask such a vague question without being specific? He didn't know what in the world the deranged girl was talking about and to put it frankly, he couldn't care less. Why was she suddenly bugging him of all people, couldn't she see that he wanted to her to go away- immediately?

"How can you not know what I'm talking about?" Linda gasped, baffled at Matt's absentmindedness. Didn't he know that the most imperative day known to man was only a mere three days away, the most passion-filled day of love that every girl looked forward to? Linda continued to stare down at the gamer, cocking a thin blonde eyebrow in bewilderment. She kneeled down to Matt's level and shifted her weight on the heels of her feet, her arms draping over knees.

Matt shuffled away from her closeness and stared at her with hesitation. He still didn't know what she was talking about, and the more she bugged him, the more he wanted to just yell at her to go away and take her babbling elsewhere.

"You really don't know then…" she stated to herself, befuddled. She gave Matt another astounded stare and smirked, shaking her head.

"Valentine's Day is just a couple of day's away!" she exclaimed charismatically. She threw her hands in the air and formed a heart with her fingers, placing the symbol over her chest. "How could you not know that Matt?"

"I'm a boy, stupid!" he yelled at her. Matt immediately stood and brushed off the dust that had accumulated on the back of his jeans. He didn't even want to be near Linda while she prattled on about trivial matters such as Valentine's Day. What was so great about going out and spending hard earned money on cheap chocolate and overpriced flowers?

"Whatever," he said dully and quickly trotted across the common room, exiting out into the hallway. Linda stared after him with her mouth agape.

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Matt swiftly opened the door to his room. He was mentally seething inside—Linda had practically ruined the gamer-console-bond he had tried so hard to erect between he and his beloved PSP. Why couldn't she just keep her gibberish to herself, by God, she always seemed to be prattling away! He angrily shut the door behind him and kicked off his boots, heading over towards his bed. All he wanted to do was drape himself across the mattress and lean back into a pillow or two. As he neared his bed, he widened his eyes and was surprised to find that someone had already beaten him to it first.

"What are you doing here?" Matt asked in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. He really didn't feel like dealing with anyone right now, even Mello, after having Linda destroy the last of his tested patience.

Mello shifted his weight about the bed, folding his pale arms behind his head while he leaned back against Matt's comfiest pillow. The blond blew a strand of hair away from his face, lips slipping into a smirk.

"It sounds as if you don't want me here, Matty," Mello stated sardonically. He crossed his legs and waved a foot in the air, cobalt eyes aslant and narrow as they peered from beneath the thick curtain of his bangs.

"Linda was getting on my nerves," Matt breathed, stomping over towards Mello and taking a seat at the edge of the bed. He could hear the coils creak underneath his added weight.

"What'd she say?" Mello asked listlessly, clearly not interested in hearing about the girl. Mello had never really taken a liking to Linda either. He had once said that she was an annoying little doe-eyed brat that didn't know when to shut that big mouth of hers, or something like that.

"Same old shit she always spews, stuff about love and all that girl's crap—Valentine's Day," Matt answered, pressing the palms of his hands to the surface of the bed.

"Oh shit, it's almost Valentine's Day isn't it?" Mello sat up, eyes widening. He smoothed his hair away from his face again, tucking a strand behind his ear. Matt eyed him quizzically, brow arching in confusion.

"Yeah, what about it?" Matt queried, suspicion clouding his voice. "Why do you seem so worried about it? It's just a stupid mush-fest." Matt threw himself against the bed, his back thudding against the mattress. He looked up at the ceiling and watched the light flicker on and off—he'd have to ask Roger for a replacement bulb soon.

"How can you not care?" Mello sneered, jerking his head. He stared down at Matt with a squint to his eyes. Mello leaned over, yellow strands of hair dangling in Matt's face. Their faces were only inches apart, and Matt could smell the faint scent of chocolate from the other boy's mouth. The gamer flushed and tried to back away, but all he backed into was the headboard and a barricade of fluffy pillows. "You should be worried too, what if- ."

"Oh god, please Mello, don't turn this into a- ."

"…- Near gets more Valentine's cards than me?"

"-competition," Matt finished, an immense sigh escaping his parted lips. He folded his gloved fingers over his stomach, swishing his feet side to side as they dangled over the edge of the bed. He should have known that Mello would somehow turn Valentine's Day into some sort of spiteful competition. Mello was constantly trying to out win Near, whether it be in grades or reputation. Mello was always roaring to face off against his nemesis.

"Don't tell me you're going to try to get the most Valentines Day cards, please don't tell me you're gonna' do that," Matt pleaded, smacking his hand to his forehead. Why did Mello have to be so competitive?

Mello turned towards Matt, giving him a wry smirk. Mischief sparked within his eyes, nearly turning the air black with discord.

"You know, that means that you're going to have to give me one," Mello said matter-of-factly. He crawled over and placed himself next to Matt, folding his own hands over his stomach.

"Give you what?"

"A Valentines card," Mello replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you going to get me one?" Matt asked quietly, sitting up to lean on his elbows. He stared down at Mello, who still had a smirk engraved upon his lips.

"No," Mello answered coolly. He closed his eyes and sneered, kicking Matt in the shins with his boot.

Matt continued to stare down at Mello, a bit baffled that Mello had refused him of a Valentine so bluntly. It wasn't like he cared about getting a Valentine, he didn't give a damn at all, but it was still a bit upsetting to be told straight in the face, "no".

"Are you going to get anyone else a Valentine then?" Matt asked quietly. Matt shifted his gaze over towards Mello's face, where hesitation currently resided. Why was Mello hesitating?

"No," Mello replied softly.

Matt got up and crawled his way over towards the head of the bed, shuffling underneath the covers as he drew the blankets up to his chin. He sighed as he thought about all the hassle he was going to have to go through to get a card for Mello. It wasn't going to be that hard to obtain one, it's just that he was too lazy to actually go out and get one. He then decided that he was going to have to make a card, however crappy it came out. As long as it was a card, it was sure to please Mello to a certain extent. Why he was going through all the trouble to give Mello a hand made Valentine, Matt hadn't the faintest idea, but all he knew was that Mello's word was final.

"Whatever," Matt whispered and shut his eyes while Mello quietly shuffled out of the room.

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February 14th

Matt stared down at the atrocious thing clasped within his hand. His eyes twitched from underneath his shadowed goggles, his teeth biting at his lip. What in the world had possessed him to create something so horrifically cheesy that it nearly blinded him, even with his goggles on?

'Oh yeah, Mello,' he thought bitterly, letting a frown take hold of his lips. He opened the pink colored paper and stared down at the distorted heart drawn messily on the left side of the card, the right side reading the most half-assed message that anyone could ever come up with: "Have a nice Valentine's Day". The exclamation point was entirely forgotten. He hadn't even bothered to sign his name on it, what was the point anyway? As long as Mello got some sort of card from him, all would be fine and dandy, wouldn't it?

Matt walked down the lengthy main corridor of the orphanage, all the while passing by giggling girls as they shuffled through their own piles of cards. Some even had little chocolates taped onto the front. He carried on, intent on giving his card to Mello so that he could be over and done with this entire Valentine's crap.

However, that was just going to have to wait. Fortunately, he had just passed by Near's door when curiosity sprang upon him. Matt shifted his boot-clad feet and shuffled backwards until he stood right in front of the albino genius' door.

After peeking his head in and swiftly scanning the expanse of the room, and deciding that the close was definitely clear, Matt slowly made his way inside, Valentine card clasped against his chest. He began to wonder if Near had gotten any cards so that he could report back to Mello. Matt straightened himself and closed the door to Near's room, scanning his eyes once again around the perimeter. Where could Near be?

Shrugging the thought away, he cautiously tiptoed inside. His eyes widened as he saw a pile of folded pink and red paper cards sitting at the center of Near's perfectly made bed. Matt smiled and went over towards the pile, hands eager to read any messages that he could report and laugh about with Mello. He reached down and began to shift through the pile, brushing over numerous cards from Linda and some of the other girls she liked to hang out with. He halted when he came across one card in particular that nearly made him choke on his spit.

It was from Mello.

Matt's hands began to shake as he picked up the red colored card, opening it deftly with one hand. The card's contents were entirely empty save for the message that was hastily written in the middle, "I still hate you, but Happy Valentine's Day". Matt dropped the card, letting it land softly on the pile of pink and red paper. His mouth had parted open, his eyes wide and clearly in disbelief.

Mello had given Near a Valentine's card? The idea was preposterous in itself, but here was the evidence, sitting right before him with a message obviously written by his blond haired comrade. Who would write such a straight-to-the-point message other than Mello? It wasn't even the message within the card that had bothered Matt so, but what was more important was that Mello had actually given Near a card.

How could Mello, of all people, give Near a card when he was Mello's most hated foe? Matt stared down at his own hand made card, shifting his eyes towards Near's store bought one. And Mello even had the gall to actually _**buy**_ a Valentine?

"It's just a stupid card," Matt muttered to himself, but even when saying that, he couldn't help but feel dejected. Here he was, about to give Mello a Valentine's card, when Mello had so clearly stated that he would in fact not give Matt a card in return but had bought Near one. Well, what the hell was he supposed to think now?

Matt clutched his own hand made card in what seemed to be a death-like grip, his face flushing. This was the last straw. Matt was through with apologizing for Mello, following after him like an obedient little dog. Matt was in fact not a dog and he was fed up with having to act like one. He always stayed loyal towards Mello, like a friend should be, but was it all for nothing? Did Mello even see him as a friend anyway?

Matt stormed out of Near's room, Valentine card crushed inside the palm of his hand. He was going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what the circumstances. He rushed down the solemn hallways, brushing past open doors and gliding over polished floors. He was so intent on getting to Mello's room, that he didn't even stop to help Linda up when he had accidentally knocked her down.

Finally, he halted in front of his target's door, his breath labored and his face flushed with rage. He took in a deep breath and placed his hand on the doorknob, and with one turn he threw open the door.

Seconds ticked by as he stood there, watching as two figures with white and yellow hair kissed fervently at each other. They immediately stopped, one of them looking over at Matt with stricken eyes.

Matt stood there, hands going limp as his Valentine card drifted towards the floor like a soiled feather.

"Matt, what the fuck?" Mello yelled, directing a heated glare at Matt. Near backed away from Mello, adjusting the collar of his oversized white shirt. His face was red, but his eyes portrayed nothing but a dull listlessness.

Matt's mind was spinning and spinning. It was spinning so much that he thought he would faint, but fainting was what girls did and he wasn't a girl. He bit at his lip and blinked his eyes, his fingers shaking at his sides. Why did he even have to come over here, he thought? If he had just wallowed in his grief elsewhere, he wouldn't have witnessed his friend kissing his most hated enemy, rather passionately might he add.

"Matt," Mello whispered. Matt looked up, lips parted and eyes still wide alert. What could Mello possibly have to say to him during such an awkward speck of time? Would he perhaps apologize to Matt for not getting him a Valentines card? Matt wished it were as simple as that—he had no hopes to hope for.

"If you ever tell, I'm gonna-," Mello continued ruefully, but Matt cut him off by turning around on his heels while muttering a soft,

"Happy Valentine's Day."

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**Poor Matt, what an ass I am. D:**

**Read an Review, please!**


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